The Fame
The Fame is the debut studio album by American pop recording artist Lady Gaga. It was released on August 19, 2008 by Interscope Records. After writing songs for several established acts, Gaga released this album. The main theme of the songs is about how anyone can feel famous like a celebrity. Gaga worked with several producers on the album; mainly RedOne, Martin Kierszenbaum, and Rob Fusari. The songs are mostly inspired by Gaga's love of fame in general, and deals with the intricacies of a rich and famous lifestyle, visualized by her. Musically, the album drew inspiration from '80s electropop and synthpop while incorporating dance music and clear hooks. The album received mostly positive reviews, with critics commending Gaga's ability to discover a melodious hook and comparing her vocal abilities to those of Gwen Stefani. The album went to number-one in countries such as the United Kingdom, Canada and Ireland. In the United States the album peaked at number two on the Billboard 200 and topped the Billboard Top Electronic Albums chart. Worldwide, the album has shipped eight million copies. The first two singles from The Fame, "Just Dance" and "Poker Face", were both international hits, with "Just Dance" topping the charts in over six countries, including the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States. "Poker Face" was able to peak at number-one in almost all the major musical markets, and it became her second consecutive number-one hit on the Hot 100 chart. Other singles released includes "Eh, Eh (Nothing Else I Can Say)", "Lovegame", and "Paparazzi". Gaga promoted the album by performing the songs in a number of live appearances, including her first headlining The Fame Ball Tour. The album is featured as a bonus disc on the deluxe edition of Gaga's second studio album The Fame Monster'' . On December 2, 2009, ''The Fame was nominated for numerous Grammy Awards in the categories of Song of the Year, and Record of the Year, and winning Best Dance Recording for her hit single "Poker Face". The album was nominated for Album of the Year, and won the Grammy Award for Best Electronic/Dance Album at the 52nd Grammy Awards. On February 16, 2010, The Fame won Best International Album at the 2010 BRIT Awards. Writing and Development While establishing herself as an artist and working her way up through the New York underground club scene, Gaga released her debut studio album, The Fame. Speaking about the title and concept of the album, Gaga explained: "The Fame is about how anyone can feel famous. ... Pop culture is art. It doesn't make you cool to hate pop culture, so I embraced it and you hear it all over The Fame. But, it's a sharable fame. I want to invite you all to the party. I want people to feel a part of this lifestyle." Gaga stated in an interview with MTV UK that she had been working on the album for two and a half years and completed half of it during the first week of January 2008. As well as writing the lyrics, Gaga worked on the melodies and synth work of the album with record producer RedOne. According to her, the song is a joyous, heart-themed song which appeal to people going through tough times in their life. "Lovegame", the second track, was inspired by Gaga's sexual crush on a stranger in a night club to whom she said, "I wanna ride on your disco stick". It was written in four minutes based on the disco stick hook. "Paparazzi" has been interpreted with different meanings. However Gaga explained in an interview with About.com that the song was inspired by her struggles and hunger for fame and love. Essentially a love song, "Paparazzi" deals with enticing t he media and asks the question whether one can have both fame and love. "Poker Face" was inspired by Gaga's boyfriends who enjoyed gambling, and also dealt with her personal experience of bisexuality; her fantasies about women while having sex with men, thus representing her "poker face." "Boys, Boys, Boys" was inspired by the similarly titled Motley Crue song "Girls, Girls, Girls". Gaga explained that she wanted a female version of the song that rockers would like too. "Beautiful, Dirty, Rich" summed up her time of self-discovery, living in the Lower East Side and dabbling in drugs and the party scene. "Eh, Eh (Nothing Else I Can Say)" was about breaking up with a boyfriend and finding someone new. "Brown Eyes" was inspired by the band Queen and, according to Gaga, is the most vulnerable song on the album. In an interview with MTV, Gaga further clarified the ideas behind The Fame, and her inspirations and visions for the album. She believed that the most important thing missing from contemporary pop music was the combination of the visual imagery of the artist with the music. Gaga involves theatrics in her live performances of the songs from the album. Hence she hoped that people would take notice of the performance art that she was trying to bring back with the album and its music the music puts the lifestyle in front of it. "I just feel like this record is really different- you've got club bangers to more 70s glam to more singer-songwriter records to rock music. ... The Fame is not about who you are—it's about how everybody wants to know who you are! Buy it and listen to it before you go out or in the car. ... I think you've really got to allow artists' creativity to marinate. It took me a while but really delving into myself I finally got it. I couldn't be more proud of it. It's not just a record, it's a whole pop art movement. It's not just about one song." Music Structure and Lyrics Musically, the album drew influences from late 1970s glam rock musicians such as David Bowie and Queen. Gaga incorporated their glam-rock sound while devising catchy pop melodies and hooks to create what she has dubbed, "theatrical pop". Songs like "Poker Face", "Just Dance" and "Lovegame" are uptempo dance songs, with "Poker Face" carrying a dark sound with clear vocals on the chorus and a pop hook. "Just Dance" is synth-based while "Lovegame" has a more dance-oriented beat and "Money Honey" has a moderate techno groove. All of them combine synths of clipped marching beats, sawing electronics and contains mild R&B-infused beats. "Paparazzi" carries a sultry beat while "Summerboy" has influences of the music of Blondie". "Eh, Eh" is credited as a ballad compared to the rest of the dance-fueled tracks from The Fame. The song has an eighties synth pop feeling in it while incorporating the "Eh, Eh" hook from Rihanna's single "Umbrella" (2007). Lyrically, the songs on The Fame talk about being famous and achieving popularity. "Poker Face" is all about sexual innuendo and teasing. Gaga explained in an interview with the Daily Star that the lyrics carry a bit of an undertone of confusion about love and sex. According to the BBC, the "Mum-mum-mum-mah" hook used in the song is copied from Boney M's 1977 hit "Ma Baker". "Just Dance" talks about being intoxicated in a party, with lyrics like "What's going on on the floor? / I love this record, baby but I can't see straight anymore". "Lovegame" portrays a message about love, fame and sexuality which is akin to the central theme of album. "Paparazzi" portrays a stalker who is following somebody being his or her biggest fan. The lyrics also portray the desire of capturing the attention of the camera as well as achieving fame. Gaga explained that, "This idea of 'The Fame' runs through and through. Basically, if you have nothing—no money, no fame—you can still feel beautiful and dirty rich. It's about making choices, and having references—things you pull from your life that you believe in. It's about self-discovery and being creative. The record is slightly focused, but it's also eclectic.... The music is intended to inspire people to feel a certain way about themselves, so they'll be able to encompass, in their own lives, a sense of inner fame that they can project to the world, and the carefree nature of the album is a reflection of that aura. I like to funnel interesting ideas to the rest of the world through a pop lens." Chart Performance In the United States, The Fame debuted at number seventeen on the Billboard 200 with sales of 24,000 on the issue dated November 15, 2008. After fluctuating down the charts, the album reached number ten on the issue dated March 7, 2009. It then reached a peak of number four on the chart. The album also topped Billboard Top Electronic Albums chart. It was number one for more than 40 non-consecutive weeks. On January 2, 2010, the album was certified two-times platinum for shipments of two million copies, by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The Fame has sold over 2.52 million copies in the United States and is the best-selling digital album ever by a solo artist, selling 605,000 digital copies. With the release of The Fame Monster being combined with The Fame as a deluxe edition, the album jumped from thirty-four to six on the Billboard 200 with sales of 151,000. On the issue dated January 16, 2010, The Fame moved to a new peak of two on the Billboard 200 after being on the charts for sixty-two weeks. In Canada, the album reached number-one, and has been certified triple platinum by the Canadian Recording Industry Association for shipment of 240,000 copies. It has sold 390,000 copies there. The album debuted at number six, and peaked at number two in New Zealand as well as being certified double platinum. In Australia, the album debuted at twelve and peaked at four. The album has been certified three times platinum in Australia, by the Australian Recording Industry Association for shipments of 210,000 copies respectively. The Fame debuted in the United Kingdom at number three. After spending ten weeks in the top ten, it replaced Ronan Keating's Songs for My Mother at the top position. Since then, the album spent four consecutive weeks at the number-one spot. It has been certified four-times platinum by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) for shipment of 2.4 million copies. In Ireland, the album entered the charts at number eight, and in its fifth week climbed to number-one for two consecutive weeks. In mainland Europe, the album peaked at number one on the European Top 100 Albums, the Austrian Albums Chart and the German Album Chart. It also reached the top twenty in Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Russia, and Switzerland. Worldwide sales for the album stand at 8 million copies. Singles Beautiful, Dirty, Rich-was released as the album's promotional single. It was innitally announced as GaGa's second single, but "Poker Face" was chosen instead. There were two videos released for the song - the first was composed of clips from Dirty Sexy Money, and the second was the actual music video. The song charted on the UK Singles Chart due to digital downloads and peaked at number eighty-three. Just Dance-was released as the album's lead single commercially worldwide on June 17, 2008, through digital distribution. The song was critically appreciated with reviewers complimenting its club anthem-like nature and the synth pop associated with it. It achieved commercial success by topping charts in the United States, Australia, Canada, the Republic of Ireland, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, as well as reaching the top ten in many other countries. The song received a Grammy nomination in the Best Dance Recording category but lost to electronic duo Daft Punk for their song "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger". Poker Face-was released as the second single from the album. It was also well-received by the critics, most of whom have praised the robotic hook and the chorus. The single achieved greater success than "Just Dance" by topping the charts in almost all the countries it was released to. "Poker Face" became Gaga's second consecutive number one on the Hot 100. On December 2, 2009, "Poker Face" received 3 Grammy nominations in the categories of Song of the Year, Record of the Year, and won for Best Dance Recording. Eh, Eh (Nothing Else I Can Say)-was the album's third single in Australia, New Zealand, Sweden and Denmark and fourth in France. The song received mixed reviews. Some critics compared it to nineties Europop while the others criticized it for bringing the party-like nature of the album to a halt and thus being an embarrassment to the album. It failed to match the success of the previous singles in Australia and New Zealand by reaching fifteen and nine respectively. It peaked at two in Sweden and at seven in France. Lovegame -was released as the third single in the United States, Canada and some European nations. It was the fourth single in Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. The song was critically appreciated for its catchy tune and the "I wanna take a ride on your disco stick" hook. The song has reached the top ten in countries such as the United States, Australia and Canada and the top twenty in others. Paparazzi-was announced as the third single in the United Kingdom and Ireland with a release date of July 6, 2009 and the fifth single in the rest of the nations. It was also released as the fifth Australian single from the album on July 10, 2009. The song however charted before it had been released and has reached the top five in Australia, Canada, Ireland and the United Kingdom. "Paparazzi" has been appreciated for its fun-filled, club-friendly nature and is deemed the most memorable and telling song from the album. The associated music video for the song was shot as a mini-movie with Gaga starring as a doomed starlet who is almost killed by her boyfriend, but in the end takes her revenge and reclaims her fame and popularity. It still charts on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States at 33. Track Listing Original Standard edition This was the 2008 version released in Canada, Mexico, some European countries, Australia, and New Zealand. Revised edition The 2009 revised edition includes an altered track listing. For the U.S. version the artwork also underwent minor changes, and the letters on the front cover are red. The tracks "Poker Face", "Lovegame", "Paparazzi", "Boys Boys Boys" and "Money Honey" have been slightly remixed. The track "Again Again" is removed, while "Starstruck" and "Paper Gangsta" are added. Release History